1989 Raleigh Avanti 531 Restoration FINISHED page 3

[street]

Re: Re:

I've had two of the white/turquoise 1987 model with the tandem forks, regret selling the last one,..

Very nice. I really like the earlier model


Right. I've made a bit of a start on this one by removing all the unwanted accessories and also the MBUK stickers (cool as they were).
As well as putting my own mark on it I've got to take someone's marks off of it:



On the otherwise very good condition frame there is an ominous looking lump of filler (I think) hiding something on the top tube. Unlikely but I was hoping there isn't some kind of hole there. Time to find out:






Yeah, just a dent. That's okay. I saw it and factored it in when deciding whether to buy it. I haven't decided how to tackle it yet though. The paint on the top tube is very good, with just minor cable rub. Some of the paint came away with the removal of the filler but that was inevitable. It's local to the dent.
I'll give it some thought. What would you do? Fill it and paint it or send it to someone to get it out a bit first? I'd be tempted to try to pull it out a bit myself with a spot welder but I can imagine putting a hole in the thing knowing my luck :roll:

Anyway. One other area I'm not sure about is the bars:





They've had an unknown amount of the length chopped off. They need neatening up at the very least. I really like wide bars, and while these are actually not that narrow in current form, the wider the better for me.





I'm going to look out for a replacement pair. Cro-mo, apparently. I don't recall seeing these before.
They're the same profile as the classic Raleigh bars of the era, i.e slightly swept back. I used to really like them turned to swoop upwards so I'll install them that way on final assembly

Thanks for looking in!
(PS- I'm going to sort out a better camera at some point)

 

[drcarlos]

Re: 1989 Raleigh Avanti 531 Restoration Project

Nice, another Raleigh lightweight owner here. Looks good and these ride well.
Have fun cleaning it up and riding it.

Carl

 

[reanimation]

Re: 1989 Raleigh Avanti 531 Restoration Project

Hey, that's a cool find. Nice to find it in the old school network local too!
I'm fond of old Raleighs too. Starting out on Mk2 then Mk1 Mustangs. nearest i have is tatty Mirage with similar frame but lesser spec, a bit small, but as it's worth peanuts will hang on.
It's good no one has stripped it, it can't always be about profit and savings, nice it has survived the old way and found a good new home with you.
Can that dent be forgot about?
Bars I dunno, have a look about. Planet X have some nitto stuff in stock at present or if you like I'll keep an eye out at the jumble in Jan.

 

[oldave]

Re: 1989 Raleigh Avanti 531 Restoration Project

"... Raleigh bars of the era...."

Those on my Mirage are decaled 501 and on the '93 Ravine according to catalogue are "501 Cromoly". Both are apparently uncut and measure near enough 540mm. Look to be identically swept back. So that's what you are looking for!

 

[street]

Re:

Rean- Yeah it was a lucky find to be honest! I love the nostalgia of these old Raleighs. I should really forget about the dent, it's no big deal. I was meant to just get this cleaned up and serviced so I can ride it, but I keep getting carried away
Those Nitto bullmoose type bar/stem combo are cool, I did set out to have that type of bar on the early bike I was looking for, but I don't know. The stem on this bike is rather rare so I might leave it.

Oldave- I didn't realise those 501 bars were cromoly. That's good to know. I measured these and they're 540mm so who knows how wide they were originally!
Thinking about it more, I'm just going to level up the cut down ends, repaint them and leave it like that.

 

[markdoyle75]

Re:

Hi there,
That's a lovely piece of kit. I spent many hours as a kid looking at this in the Raleigh catalogue. As a kid you spend so much time looking at these things knowing full well they are out of your reach and that of your parents. I have a Moonshine with a similar spec to your Avanti and it is a thing to behold. I've recently change the front fork to an ahead (easily reversible change). I did it to raise the front end a bit. I am also riding a massive Raleigh Mirage of similar vintage (u-brake model) built up with a period lx, dx groupset and I must say it is a bit of a revelation, I absolutely love it. You should enjoy that bike, my Moonshine is a bit of a shed queen, the anodising is still pretty intact on the brake surface. Anyways lovely piece of kit.

 

[Klein-aficionado]

Re:

Great bike find

I too have a weak spot for these pre 90's Raleigh "mtb's".

I have a mint set of those grips you are after plus an uncut handlebar from a 1989 Raleigh Thunder Road. Bar is 60 cm wide when grips are in place, so assume bar is 59 cm without. Bar could do with a respray if you want it in as new condition; otherwise an oxalic bath will remove the slight traces of surface rust.

Price for these are in the bargain end, as I would only like to have postage covered.

PM if you are interested.


K.

 

[biggs682]

Re: 1989 Raleigh Avanti 531 Restoration Project

Early mtb's make a great no nonsense commuting bike with some road style tyres fitted

 

[street]

Re: 1989 Raleigh Avanti 531 Restoration Project

Markdoyle75- I remember the Moonshine! I don't remember seeing many back in the day, but like you I was very familiar with the catalogue. Really looking forward to riding it because everyone who has one says they ride really nice.

Klein-aficionado- I've had a bit of a change of heart regarding the grips and bars, mainly because I remember getting terrible blisters from the grips! But thank you for the offer

biggs682- That's exactly what I want, a no nonsense commuter capable of some light woodland romps and canal path rides. I'm looking forward to hitting my old stomping ground on it!


Really glad there's some love for these old Raleighs, I'm enjoying having it.
The handlebar plan took a new direction when I saw a bit of paint was coming away and I decided to investigate:



Hmm, chrome under the paint? That's odd, thought I.
The paint is too good for a DIY job so I don't know what happened at Raleighs end. Maybe someone ordered chrome bars by mistake and they chucked the bars in with the frames for painting?



Either way I decided I quite like the idea of chrome handlebars on this. It will break up the black a bit and chrome bars were sort of what I had in mind when I set out looking for something 80s anyway. So out came the paint stripper....



...Which uncovered that the bars are ITM.... On a Raleigh? Did they use ITM on their bikes? I don't know, but they're in nice condition being covered in black paint all of their lives so they're staying now.




Controls were stripped, cleaned and refitted. I went for a cheap pair of foam grips because it sort of reminded me of my old Marauder! For me the cockpit is now perfect on this ride and it's much tidier than it was before.



Other than sorting the bars I've been taking each component off for cleaning.
This bike has an incredible amount of grease and dirt on everything. Every allen key bolt needs the hole digging out just to get an allen key in there. Every nook and cranny has a thick layer of hard, dried out grease mixed with dirt. So everything needs stripping and a proper good soaking in degreasing agent.
I'm happy to do this because although the bike is now quite ready for a blast out on, I can't ride a bike yet due to breaking my pelvis in 3 places and also breaking my neck :roll:
So pottering around and cleaning things is about my limit for at least a few months more.

Brooks and a Hite-Rite next!

 

[k-rod]

Re:

Egad - how the heck did you break all those bones?